That was the case for a very long time, due primarily to several mass casualty events on the ground which could have been avoided by a timely evac.

But the pendulum swung, my last airline actually asked us to be a little more judicious since pax were getting injured during evacs for spurious computer warnings with no actual signs of smoke/fire, funny smells from the packs, etc.

They actually gave us an optional "expedited deplaning" procedure through the main door (on types that had stairs). I used that once, worked fine and nobody got hurt.

Yes, presumably they had a reason, apparent to them if not to the news media.